In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.
Dr. Viktoriya Kashin was born in Russia and moved with her family to the United States when she was 8 years old. Dr. Kashin credits her mother, who passed away while Viktoriya was in nursing school, for encouraging her to go into the medical field.
She became a nurse but her desire to do more for her patients drove her to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Frontier, graduating in 2020.
“I felt I was limited as a nurse because my knowledge base was limited,” Dr. Kashin said. “I couldn’t understand certain disease processes or how to help people in certain situations. My dad had a pulmonary embolism. Being in a room with him and unable to assist him felt very helpless, so I decided to go back to school, and I applied to Frontier.”
Dr. Kashin put her DNP to work in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Florida Health Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. That’s where she was working when Russia invaded Ukraine in the winter of 2022. Witnessing the devastation of her homeland and its people drove her to take action as part of a medical missionary trip that same spring.
Her 20-day mission trip began by flying into Krakow, Poland, and then driving to Ukraine. Her group then set up in a refugee center.
“Every day I would go in and see patients,” Dr. Kashin said. “I had a couple of pregnant patients and a couple of babies that were just born. We also went to train stations and gave out goodie bags full of supplies. Every day, the bomb sirens would go off. Many people at the refugee center had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Every time a door slammed, everyone would jump.”
Despite the reminders of violence all around them, the volunteers did their best to make the refugee center as comfortable and welcoming as they could. In addition to the meals, room to sleep, and access to medical care, a hairstylist gave haircuts, and other women offered massages. Often, the refugees just wanted someone to talk to.
“They wanted to tell you where they came from, about their pets they left behind, their husband or brother or father that’s fighting,” Dr. Kashin said. “We just sat with them and listened and offered encouragement. I held back a lot of tears.”
While fully focused on her current work, Dr. Kashin is always mindful of the people impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Some images stay with you long after you return home,” she said. “I remember the shocked faces of Ukrainians, quietly asking why we had left the peaceful skies of the United States to come help them. I remember store clerks, eyes full of tears, asking for prayers—for their sons, brothers, and husbands fighting on the front lines.”
Dr. Kashin and her team were close enough to the front lines to be jarred by the warning sirens and explosions.
“I remember the twelve of us sleeping like sardines on the floor of a gymnasium, jolted awake by the sound of missiles—grateful each time they weren’t meant for us. I remember families taking shelter in an abandoned hospital, crammed into small rooms, sitting on their beds and staring blankly into space. Some cried as they spoke about the people and lives they had left behind.”
Understandably, those memories and images linger and present questions to which there are no satisfactory answers.
“When I returned home, I struggled to name what I was feeling. It wasn’t until much later that I realized: it was survival guilt,” Dr. Kashin said. “I, too, am Russian, with family spread across both Russia and Ukraine. Why do I get to return to safety in peaceful America, while others take cover in subway stations each night?”
While in Ukraine, Dr. Kashin and her brother Oleg met a few families whom they later helped sponsor to come to the U.S. to escape the conflict. Meanwhile, Dr. Kashin is prepared to go on another mission trip.
“I am currently registered with several medical mission teams and awaiting deployment,” she said. “I remain eager to contribute where needed and would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with others. If any readers are organizing trips or in need of additional support, I would be happy to discuss joining a future team.”
Today, Dr. Kashin lives in New York City and is a provider for a private telemedicine company that specializes in hormone replacement therapy for both men and women, erectile dysfunction, and weight loss medication.
“I apply evidence-based protocols to deliver personalized care that supports hormonal and metabolic health,” she said. “One of the most meaningful aspects of this work is the ability to expand access to care—particularly for patients in remote or underserved areas who may not have consistent access to in-person providers. Many of our patients are uninsured or underinsured, and we are often able to offer more affordable options for treatment and medication. Working in this space has allowed me to combine clinical autonomy with a strong focus on patient-centered care, while helping bridge gaps in access, continuity, and affordability.”
